Past
by anglorabbit
Summary: Nigel's past catches him up. Will the staff finally realize how much they truely value him?
1. Chapter 1

"No, he's not expecting me! Don't you know the meaning of the word 'SURPRISE'? Find a dictionary and look it up." It was the beginning of an end to a five minute long rampage at the reception desk of the Boston Morgue. A young woman was standing with a frustrated posture in front of the receptionist, who was in shrunken back in nervous fear.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but visitors are not permitted back…"

"Oh forget it!"

The infuriated woman stormed past the desk, through the doors and began scanning the rooms.

"Hey! Can I help you?" asked a redheaded woman.

"Yea, you can..."the intruder started angrily, whirling around, "oh, you," her voice became slightly warmer. "You're Lily, right?"

"Um, well yes. Lily Lebowski. Have we met?"

"No, but you almost married my uncle."

Lily's eyes widened. "How did you….I almost married?...the only person I've come close to marrying was…..he has a niece?" Lily stormed past the visitor and burst into an autopsy room where two men were just taking their gloves off and disposing of them.

"YOU HAVE A NIECE? I never even knew you had a sibling, let alone a NIECE! How could you not tell me?"

"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down luv. What did you just say?"

"Yea, what's all this hubbub about a niece?"  
"He has a niece, Bug. A niece…family, that he never bothered to tell us about!"

Bug, an Indian man with a mixed accent with strong overtones originating from an Oxford education, began to laugh.

"Oh come on now, you can't be serious. And it's not like any of the rest of us have any supposed long-lost relatives that the rest of us don't know about, if there even are any. Well alright, how about it Nigel? Nigel?"

The other man, a tall, dark haired, incredibly obvious British man had already taken quick, large strides over to the door where the visitor that had caused such a ruckus at the reception desk was standing with a smile the size of Big Ben's face. Nigel's face was beaming. He scooped the woman up into his arms and spun around, letting out a laugh full of warmth and sheer delight. The young woman seemed to instantly change into a younger, almost childlike version of herself as she shrieked with delight from being embraced and spun in the air. Nigel finally put down his passenger. He stood back and placed his hands on her shoulders, looking down at her with smiling, shimmering eyes.

"Hello Nigel," she said. Her eyes were a mirror image of his.

"Hello Julia."

"Everybody, this is Julia, my niece." Nigel beamed with pride. "Julia, well you've met Lily, and this is Bug. Oh Garret!" A stern looking man walked into the room, looking up from some papers by peering over his glasses.

"What's going on in here?" a gruff voice asked.

"Dr. M, this is my niece, Julia." Nigel explained excitedly. "Julia, this is my boss and head M.E. here, Dr. Garret Macy."

"How do you do, Dr. Macy." Julia extended her hand.

"Manners, how refreshing," Dr. Macy said approvingly, shaking the outstretched hand. "Call me Garret."

Julia nodded with a smile in response.

"So when did you get here? I didn't even know you were coming!" Nigel asked.  
"Just this morning. Thought I'd surprise you. Oh don't worry Dr. Ma….Garret. I won't be getting in the way."  
"Of course she won't," Nigel interrupted, visually pleading with Garret to say it would be alright for Julia to stay.  
" I'm sure you won't."

Nigel let out a sigh of relief.

"You still have a lot of explaining to do." Lily scolded.

"I'm sorry luv, I never saw the need to divulge the limbs of my family tree. Julia is my brother's daughter."

"I never knew you had a brother," Bug interjected, matching Lily's tone.

"Well 'had' would be the correct wording."

"Oh Nige, I'm sorry." Lily started. Nigel held up a hand.

"Don't worry about it. It was a while ago." He glimpsed at Julia, who showed only the slightest twinge of the remembrance of pain. He smiled, proud of the strength of his niece. Lily, ever the intuitive one, began to say something but was stopped with the knowing smile of Julia.

The figure of a long haired woman appeared in the doorway. "What's everyone doing in here?"

"Jordan!" Nigel nearly jumped at seeing her.

"Ah, so THIS is the legendary Jordan Cavanaugh. Nice to put a face to the name. I'm Julia, Nigel is my uncle."

Jordan cleared her throat in surprise. "Well, um…hi!" She threw Nigel a quizzical look. Bug explained.

"This is Nigel's late brother's daughter."

"Oh…ok."

"Right, so anyway, shouldn't you people be working or something?" Julia said as she noticed Garret shifting impatiently. They all laughed, somewhat embarrassedly.

"You're right. I like this girl, she has sense." Garret laughed. "Alright everybody, back to work."

Nigel turned to Julia, "Now I get to show you some more tricks of me trade, eh luv?"

"Or maybe I'll show you." Julia playfully shot back.

"Wow, I think I like her too!" Jordan said somewhat surprised.

Nigel and Julia laughed.

"Hey Nige, mind helping finish up here?" Bug asked.

"Oh sure mate, just um…"  
"I'll find something to do with myself until you're done. Do your job and help you friend." Julia smiled at Bug, who returned the smile with an admirable nod.

"So Lily, need any help with anything? Get you coffee…staple something..." Julia asked.

"Oh..um..sure, I guess…I actually have to do a notification in a few minutes but I do have some filing you could do."  
"Great, just show me where."

A little later, Lily came back to her office to find ever shred of paper properly filed and stored away.  
"Guess you've had some secretarial experience, huh?"  
Julia looked up, "You could say that. I'm like my uncle…many hidden, or not so hidden, talents."


	2. Chapter 2

As Lily and Julia were finishing the filing, Nigel bounded in cheerfully.  
"All done! Autopsy was a breeze, now I get to see what you've been up to." He flipped Julia's hair playfully.

"Not until you get those test results for me." Garret said as he came into the room.

Nigel's smile faded.

"I can go with you and watch." Julia said, making Nigel's smile instantly reappear.

The two of them went into the lab, leaving Garret and Lily to watch them go off laughing about old times.

"They seem close." Garret observed.

"Yea, apparently they've been keeping in contact for the past 2 years or so. Julia told me she's been off doing some sort of research and that letters and phone calls have been the only connection with Nigel…her uncle," Lily tried to get used to the phrase, "so it must be nice for them to see each other."

"You think?" Garret smirked as the Nigel and Julia's laughter echoed through the halls.

Lily smiled and sighed. "After all these years, I never knew he had a niece. I almost married the guy and I didn't know."

"No one knew. What are you getting at Lily?"

"Oh nothing, it just occurred to me that Nigel's always there to do whatever grunt work needed, he's incredibly talented, but we don't really know much about him at all."

"Well maybe now's your chance to get to know him."  
"You could too, you know." Lily chided. Garret smiled and, rolling his eyes, walked out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3

"And that's how I run a DNA comparison." Nigel beamed.

"Interesting…you do know I knew how that worked before you showed me, right?" Julia said coyly.

"Yea yea, of course you did."

The two remised for a while, catching each other up on what had been going on lately. Suddenly, a scream was heard from the lobby. Nigel and Julia jumped up and ran to see what was happening. They ran into the lobby to find a man holding the receptionist at gunpoint.  
"Where is he? Where is Townsend?" the man spoke with a heavy Russian accent. The words chilled both Townsends. Nigel, because some crazed man with a gun was looking for him. Julia, because the man's identity and itinerary was known to her.

"I won't ask you again, where is Townsend?"

The elevator opened and a man walked into the lobby whistling. He stopped suddenly and started to reach for his side. The shouting man spun around.  
"Don't even think about it!" he aimed the gun at the stunned other. "Drop your gun on the floor. NOW!"

The man from the elevator grudgingly complied. "Anybody gonna tell me what's going on here?"

"Don't speak!"

"Alright!"  
"Now! Where is Townsend?"

"I'm right.."  
"Nigel no!" Julia pulled her uncle's arm back.

"THERE YOU ARE!" the gunman bellowed. "You thought you could hide from me, eh?"

"Um, I think you have me mistaken for someone else."

"I know exactly who you are!"

"No you don't." Julia said coldly, stepping out in front of her uncle.

"Julia, get back."  
"No, you get back Nigel." Julia directed her attention to the gunman. "Leave him out of this. He doesn't know…"

"Of course he does! He was part of the unit that…"  
"That was over 15 years ago! Things have changed. I can assure you he knows nothing about.."  
"He was there! He must be dealt with in the same way as the others. My honor will be avenged!" The gun was now pointed at Nigel.

A shot went off.

The man from the elevator ran to pick up his gun. The gunman ran toward the stairwell. Just as the door was opening, the gunman fell into a slump from being shot but the man from the elevator. He returned to the lobby to find Nigel sitting on the ground, holding his niece tightly to him, crying.


	4. Chapter 4

By now, everyone had gathered in the lobby to see what was going on.

"What happened here?" Garret asked quickly, concerned.

"I don't know…I came up in the elevator and that guy was waving around a gun, telling me to drop mine, and then fired one shot at Nigel. Is he alright?"  
Lily and Bug were at Nigel's side, trying to pry his hands off his niece. They quickly noticed blood on his shirt. Lily gasped. "NIGEL! Nigel, are you alright? Were you hit?"

Nigel continued to sit quivering on the floor, grasping his niece.

"He……it got….why….wha….she…" Nigel try to speak through weeping, gulping for air.  
"What is it Nige? Did Julia…" Bug started to ask, but stopped as he looked at his distraught friend.

"Woody, get over here and help." Garret said as he bent down by Nigel.

Woody, as the man from the elevator was now identified as, hurried over.

A muffled cough was heard. The group looked at Nigel, who was not coughing, only crying.

"Nigel let go. Come on mate…she might be alright." Bug tried to reason. Another faint cough and gasp came from inside Nigel's arms. Nigel loosened his grasp. Julia lay in his arms, struggling to get better breaths of air.

"Ju..hic lia" Nigel struggled to say, relieved but still incredibly worried. "Where..how.."

"Shoulder." Julia grimaced. "Don't let any cough anyone leave."


	5. Chapter 5

Woody pulled out his cell phone and started to dial.

"Stop. Don't," Julia mumbled as forcefully as she could.

"We have to get you a hospital," Woody explained.

"No, you can't. No one can leave or come in."

"Why not?"

"Yea," Bug interjected, "Why not? You need to…"  
"Listen to me!" Julia screamed, fueled by aggravation and pain, "The bullet was tipped with a formula that emits harmful gasses into the air. Those around won't become ill right away and some people are unaffected by it, but for 24 hours, everyone is contagious. You can't bring anyone else in here and can't send anyone out until the time has passed." She fell back from her self-propped up position. Everyone was silent, trying to understand what was happening.

"But you can't stay here. You need medical attention." Bug tried to reason.

"I'll be fine," Julia grimaced, "Nigel. Nigel, look at me."

The tear-soaked face of Nigel looked from Julia's wound to her face.

"Look here, uncle. I'm going to be fine, but I need you to calm down. You need to hack into the KGB Underground data base and pull up information on that man. His identification will be in the heel of his shoe."

Nigel nodded, dumbfounded. Julia reached up and wiped Nigel's face dry. Garret, always the voice of reason, broke the silence.

"Well if we can't leave or bring people in, we'll have to take care of your wound ourselves, get the bleeding to stop. Nigel, bring her into my office. Lily, get some sheets to put on the couch. Bug, Woody, get that man into autopsy, get an ID, everything you can find about him and his gun and whatever, if anything, is left in the weapon. Where in the world is Jordan?"


	6. Chapter 6

Bug ran to get a gurney to put the man on. He found Jordan in autopsy listening to blaring headphones, oblivious to everything around her. He went over and yanked the headphones off her ears.

"HEY!" Jordan whirled around. "What's the big idea?"

"The big idea! I'll tell you what the BIG IDEA is! Some crazed Russian came looking with a gun for Nigel and ended up shooting Julia when she stepped in front of Nigel. Now she's telling us that the bullet is emitting some sort of toxin that leaves us all contaminated for 24 hours, forcing all of us into quarantine. Nigel's hysterical to the point of being completely dumbfounded and nodding at anything said to him, even though he doesn't quite get it. I've never…" Bug stopped, his face showing deep concern and a bit confused, "I mean, yea, it's his niece, but he's seen people shot before. He's just so…I don't know. I've never seen him this rattled and…"

"And what?" Jordan prodded.

"Scared."

After being prodded by Garret and Lily, Nigel finally stood up. The room spun in his eyes, causing the lanky Brit to almost loose his footing. Garret and Lily steadied him.  
"Woody, can you give us a hand here?"

"Sure thing, doc."

Lily quickly got sheets and went to spread them over the couch in Garret's office. She turned to see Woody carrying Julia into the office and Garret guiding a wobbly Nigel and sitting him down in a chair next to the couch. Woody gently put Julia down onto the couch, keeping a careful eye on her shoulder, trying not to make the wound any worse. Garret took more sheets, ripped them, making a makeshift bandage, and a pair of scissors and sat next to Julia. His eyes flitted from her to Nigel, trying to take in Nigel's behaviour.

"Alright, let's have a look. I'm going to have to cut your shirt." Garret said.

"I'm pretty sure it's already ruined." Julia said weakly, trying to smile, looking toward Nigel, checking on him. Garret smiled warmly. He cut the part of the shirt around her shoulder and the bullet hole away and looked at the wound.  
"Lily, can you get…"

Lily walked back into the room. "I brought some alcohol and hot water. Thought you might need it."

"Good thinking." He turned back to Julia. "Ok, this is gonna sting." He sponged hot water around the wound, cleaning the area. When he went to the point of entry, he switched to an alcohol-drenched sponge. Julia winced silently. Garret continued cleaning the wound. It kept bleeding slightly. He frowned.

"Well it's clean, but that bleeding needs to stop. Lily, can you come put pressure on this, I'm going to go check to see what Bug's doing."

Lily sat with Julia and Nigel while Garret and Woody left.

"Hey Nige, are you alright?" Lily asked after a while. There was no reply. "Nigel? Nigel!" Lily snapped her fingers in his face. He jerked.

"Oh. Lily. Did you say something?"

"Are you alright?"

Nigel stared at her blankly. "My niece just took a bullet that was meant for me. I don't know why he wanted me. I don't even know who he was. I don't know what's going on." He turned to Julia. "How is she?"

"She fades in and out. The bleeding is barely there anymore but it still hasn't completely stopped."

"Why don't you ask me?" a weak voice said.

"Julia" Nigel turned to her, his voice warm, but still shaky. "How are you feeling?"

"Been better. Sorry for causing trouble."

"Come now, don't be foolish. It wasn't your fault."

"I shouldn't have come"  
"Of course you should have. I may have been a baby earlier but I'm here now. I'm going to take care of you, don't you worry."

Lily shifted to the side. "Nigel, you want to hold this for me? I think you two could use some alone time."

"Thanks, luv."

Lily went to autopsy. Everyone's face was pale.

"What's wrong?"

"The bullet," Garret explained, "we tested the bullet. The chemicals in the formula don't just affect people around it after it's been shot."  
"Ok….." Lily said, still confused.

"It's attacking her, internally, breaking down normal necessary functions, particularly the circulatory and immune systems. The shot wouldn't normally kill her."  
"Wouldn't normally kill her?"

"It needs to be taken out before any more damage is done. Either way, it doesn't look good."

Lily was silent.   
"Who's gonna tell them?"  
"Do they really need to know?" Woody wondered out loud.

"She's dying from a poisoned bullet. Wouldn't you want to know what was happening to your niece?"

"Well you said the bullet needed to come out, right?"  
Garret answered, "Yes, but we can't leave or bring anyone in for another 22 hours."

"You guys are doctors. Can't you do something?"

"We're not that kind of doctor"

"Well we have to do something!" Bug burst out in frustration. "She's dying anyway, we might as well try."  
"Operate? The closest any of us has come to that lately is an autopsy, there's a difference there." Garret said, frustrated.

"He'll want you to try! If you won't, I will." Bug was now raging. "He's like a brother. I can't just sit here and let him watch his niece die."

Garret sighed. His coming answer went against all his common reasoning. "Alright, but we do it together. Everything, including telling them."


	7. Chapter 7

After a little more thought, it was decided Bug would be the one to tell Nigel what they had discovered, with Lily there incase Nigel needed to be calmed down. Garret would tell Julia alone, while Woody worked on identifying the shooter and Jordan tried to make the morgue into a makeshift operating room.

"Hey Nigel, can I talk to you out here for a moment?" Bug asked softly from the office doorway.

"Um, I'm kind of busy here, mate. Can't it wait?"

"I need to talk to you out here."

Garret walked into the office and stood next to Nigel. "I can take over for a little bit."   
Nigel reluctantly got up and went with Bug. Garret sat down where Nigel had been.

"How're you doing, Julia?"

She was silent. After looking at Garret for a while, she finally spoke.

"So you found out?"

"You did know, didn't you?"

"Yes. I was secretly researching what they were doing with the formula."  
"They?"

"They're a group that branched off the KGB, quiet rebels, who would go along with anything as long as it didn't interfere with their goals. Originally, the formula was meant to work as a interrogation device…in stead of wasting time drugging their wounded prisoners, the drug would already be in them so all they had to do was ask questions. That was about 15 years ago."

Garret sat listening intently. Julia continued.

"My father and Nigel were in the same unit of the Royal Navy at the time. The unit was ordered to raid a laboratory and gain information about the research going on there. Things didn't go as planned. One of the older scientists got jumpy, pulled a gun and fired it, everything went into chaos. Everyone of the researchers stayed and fought back, except one."  
"Today's gunman?"  
"Exactly. He was young and his father was the scientist fired the first shot, and the first to be shot down. The guy from today ran away, which made him the only one who escaped that day. The Navy had only 3 fatalities, but unfortunately, my father was one of them."  
"I'm sorry to hear that"  
Julia nodded and waved pity aside. "Since my mother had died during childbirth and my father was now gone, Nigel took me in and looked after me until he came over here. I wouldn't let myself be the reason that he was held back, and by that time I could take care of myself anyway. Since then, we've kept in contact in any way possible. I've been undercover, so to speak, keeping an eye out on what the son had been up to. He's changed the formula so that instead of loosening people's tongues and tearing down inhibitions, it now tears down the body of whoever the bullet has been shot into, as well as slightly affecting those around the target. He's been able to "seek revenge" on everyone who was in that unit, except Nigel. I came here hoping that since Nigel had been out of the country for so long, the gunman wouldn't be able to find him, and in the event that he did find him, that I would somehow be able to protect him. I suppose I did, but not completely."

Garret sat back, amazed at what he had just been told and what was happening now. It occurred to him that Nigel, his coworker and, yes, even though it was hardly ever admitted, close friend, was an intended hit, and could possibly be dead now if it had not been for his niece. Eventually, he jerked himself back to reality, trying to focus hard on what was happening now.

"We're going to try to take the bullet out. From what we can tell, the longer it's in there, the longer the formula is emitted and can affect the body, is that correct?"

Julia nodded.

"It won't be easy, but at least you might have a better chance. We should really hurry though."  
"Don't let Nigel know the whole story. The vengeful gunman and everything… I'll tell him."

Garret agreed and called Jordan to let her know they were almost ready.


	8. Chapter 8

"She…..she's what?" Nigel finally stammered after Bug told him the news.

"That should have been me in there!" Nigel's voice grew louder. "I don't know why but that should have been me! THAT BASTARD CAME TO KILL ME AND ENDED UP POSSIBLE KILLING MY NIECE! BLOODY HELL, BUG! SHE'S LIKE MY OWN…" Nigel stopped short. He slumped onto the floor in despair. "And now I can't do anything."

"The formula is time-released. We can try to take the bullet out, which would maybe give her a better chance…"  
"For survival or a whole slew of other effects…infection, complications with some sort of medieval dark-aged surgery, in a MORGUE no less…bugger all. How am I going to tell her?"

"Dr. Macy is telling her right now."  
"WHY…." he stopped to think a minute, "well, I guess that's alright. But I need to talk to her before…who's doing this 'operation' anyway?"

"Dr. M and I are, if that's alright."  
Nigel nodded. "I trust you, you know that. Uh….where's Jordan going to be?"

Bug noticed his hesitation. "Right now, she's preparing autopsy, making it a little less, well you know. She'll just watch."

Nigel nodded again, letting out a small sigh of relief. Garret walked up and put his hand on Nigel's shoulder.

"I need to talk to her a minute" Nigel started. Garret held up a hand, stopping him.   
"Go ahead, but try to be quick."

Nigel went into the office, leaving Garret, Bug, and a pondering Lily.

"What do you think he meant?" she wondered out loud.

"About what?"

"He said, "she's like my own…" His own what?"

Bug shrugged, quietly wondering the same thing. Garret offered a possible answer.

"His own daughter?"

"WHAT?" Lily and Bug shouted simultaneously. Garret then went on to explain what he had just been told by Julia.

Nigel closed the office door behind him and sat down next to Julia.

"You didn't wallop Bug did you?" Julia asked jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. Nigel smirked.

"No, I was good. Might have yelled a bit, but what can you expect when your best mate tells you your niece, who he doesn't really know is more like your daughter, is possibly…" His voice caught in his throat. Julia extended a feeble hand slowly toward him. Nigel took her hand and, with his free hand, brushed the hair out of her eyes. He put his head down towards her, kissing her forehead. He looked at her with tear-filled eyes. She looked back, her eyes the same.

"Don't leave me" Julia quietly pleaded to her uncle.

"Oh Julia, I'm never leaving you, and you're never leaving me." Nigel whispered. "We'll beat this. No one is leaving."

A quiet tap was heard at the door. It opened slightly. Lily poked her head in the room.

"Um, Bug and Garret said they're ready if you are."

Nigel nodded. "We'll be there in a minute, luv."

Lily stepped back and closed the door.

"You ready?"

Julia nodded. "Are you?"

Nigel gently smiled and nodded in return. With strong, protective arms, he picked up his niece and carried her to the waiting Bug and Garret.


	9. Chapter 9

Nigel gingerly put his niece down onto the gurney, Garret and Bug standing by wearing scrubs, gloves, and masks. Jordan had gone to help Woody with the identification of the shooter. Lily was standing watch outside.   
"Here," Bug handed Nigel a mask, which he quickly put on.   
"Alright, since this isn't a hospital, we unfortunately have no anesthesia." Garret began to explain. Nigel muttered something about reverting back to the dark ages. Garret glanced at Nigel, who quickly fell silent. "I don't like this anymore than you. We'll go along as quickly and carefully as possible…"

"And I'll be here the entire time." Nigel interjected.

"Well, we better get started. Nigel, sit there on her right and make sure there's minimal movement. Bug, give me a hand when I say. Julia, try not to focus on what's happening… just look at your uncle. Are we all ready?" Bug nodded a yes.

"Wait a sec," Nigel said as he took off his watch and sheepishly offered it to his niece, "maybe it'll help?"

Julia took the watch and gripped the band with her teeth. Her uncle smiled, approvingly.

"We're ready." Nigel said to Garret.

Julia turned her head toward Nigel, who took her hand in an arm-wrestling position to steady her. Garret began to prod the wound, searching for the bullet. Julia quietly moaned, biting increasingly harder. The pain caused her to break into fever. The color from her face drained. Nigel mopped her pale forehead and face of the perspiration, looking on, concerned, yet with firm assurance that he would let nothing more harmful happen to his beloved niece. Bug offered help when needed, all the while watching his friend, trying to make sure he would hold up. As the minutes passed, he became aware of something new that had come over Nigel. It was somewhat a sense of duty, making him vehemently protective, compassionate, warm, but at the same time, terrified of the possibility of loosing someone so close to him it made him ache.

Finally, the bullet was successfully extracted and the wound patched up. The gurney Julia lay on was wheeled back to Garret's office, and, ever so carefully, Nigel and Bug placed her back onto the couch, being sure not to rip the stitching, attempted to make her as comfortable as possible. Exhausted from the surgery, Julia tried to go to sleep, but the pain made it close to impossible. After everyone left the office, Nigel sat next to his niece, comforting her, trying to get her fever down by patting down her forehead, face, and neck with a cold, damp cloth.

"You really should get some sleep." Nigel chided warmly.

"I…"  
"Shhhh, come now. You must'n talk, save your strength. Here" Nigel got up from his chair, carefully propped Julia up, and sat on the couch, placing a cushion on his lap and then her head on it. "There, that's better isn't it."

Julia smiled feebly. Nigel smiled back, looking down warmly on her. He softly began to sing 'Scarbourgh Fair' to calm her. Memories of years before flooded back to both their minds. Slowly, Julia drifted off to sleep, feeling completely safe and secure in her uncle's protective arms. Nigel smiled, somewhat content, and watched her sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

As she slept, she dreamt….or was it a dream? She saw her father, falling under the impact of enemy fire, her uncle at his side. She felt hot tears fall onto her face, the cold rain soaking the rest of her as she watched through the basement window. She remembered how completely helpless she had felt as half her life died in front of her. That day, she had vowed that she would protect her uncle, who had become her second father, at any cost, in order to atone for her failure. Today, the day of atonement had come. Her shoulder throbbed in unbearable pain, yet she had to bear it…she had to fight. Then again, the danger had passed. He was safe… for now. Tired, it was the one word that continued to repeat itself in her mind. A battle raged inside her. She suddenly felt lost, unaware of her surroundings. Darkness clouded her memory. Glimpses of familiarity came into view, and then they were gone. She had to get back, but back where? Where was she going, or for that matter, where was she coming from? Must get back, must get back.

The twenty-four hours had passed. An ambulance was called to transport Julia to a hospital room. Nigel never once left his niece's side. Another twenty-four hours passed. Nigel had been informed that Julia had slipped into a comatose state; the effects of the poisonous bullet were taking their merciless toll. She would have, however, not survived if the bullet had remained in her any longer than it had. Dr. Macy was commended for his makeshift surgical prowess. The fight for her life continued, with Nigel continuously watching over her.

Thirty-two hours had passed. It was late at night, with only the sound of monitors beeping. The physically and emotionally drained frame of a man sat on the edge of the hospital bed. His long black hair was mused, uncombed and out of place, caused by his continuous nervous habit of running his hands through it. His eyes drooped sullenly, exhausted, and painfully aware of what a possible outcome might be. But no, he mustn't think of that. He held a motionless hand in both his hands. He decided he would try speaking to her again. Could she even hear him? Of course she could.

"Julia? Can you hear me? I need you, Julia. I need you to keep fighting. You have to win, you have to beat this….just like you always beat me when we fence." He chuckled, remembering. "We haven't done that in a while now have we? When you get well again, you'll have to let me have a go at trying to win. You'll stay with me, of course. I've missed you terribly. Now that you're here we can finally do more things together, instead of phoning and emailing each other. We'll be a family again. You and me." His voice cracked. "You can't leave me, Julia. I need you." A tear escaped from his eye, falling onto her hand. As if by magic, he suddenly felt a slight squeeze on his hand. He almost jumped.

"Julia! Follow my voice."

Another squeeze.

"Come on, luv, you're almost here."

Her eyes fluttered.   
"That's the way," he was close to bouncing with anxious excitement.

Her eyes slowly opened. Unaware of her surroundings, panic crept into her eyes.  
"Shh, shh, it's alright, luv. I'm right here. You're safe now. I'm right here." Nigel crooned softly, brushing his fingers against her cheek, comforting her. "Welcome back."


End file.
